Keeping the Balance
by crowskisses
Summary: AU ending for Dark Reunion.  How did they keep the balance when they sent Elena back to Earth?  What would have happened if she had to pay a price.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: AU ending for Dark Reunion. How did they keep the balance when they sent Elena back to Earth? What would have happened if she had to pay a price.

Author's note: Just something that's bothered me since I first read VD many, many years ago. There had to be some sort of explanation.

**Keeping the Balance**

Stefan's scream echoed through the clearing and beyond, soul shaking enough to even reach another dimension. "_Elena!"_

Elena looked at the bright lights around her, there were shapes within them, but whenever she tried to focus on one of the beings her eyes simply hurt. Instead she looked around the room, she was in some sort of higher court and they were judging her from their celestial table. Judging her not just as she was, but the lives she'd lived both human and vampire. Judging her petty ways and her soul aching love for Stefan.

"Elena Gilbert," the voice was powerful, but not unkind and Elena felt some sort of deep recognition for this woman.

"Yes?" Elena felt more substantial than she had since her last death, almost as if the form she held was real.

"You refused to move on when you died, is this correct?" Another voice, colder, and Elena could see red hair through the haze of light.

"Yes." And Elena's passion roared in her, "I couldn't leave while they were in danger! They needed to be warned.."

"They?" And an unsubstantial finger motioned to the middle of the table they sat. Elena moved towards the table, her heart torn between rapidly beating and aching so hard she thought it might break. She looked into it and saw the clearing from above. Bonnie's red head still standing where she had been as if in shock. Matt, Meredith and Caroline moving towards the rest in the flickering firelight. Damon standing, his shoulders slumped. She saved the most important figure for last.

Stefan had fallen to his knees, his face turned upwards in a look of eternal pain. Elena clutched at her heart, no her soul, it hurt so terribly to see him like this. His name like a prayer on her lips, "Stefan..."

They were judging her again, feeling the emotions she felt staring down at her friends. No, feeling what she felt staring down at him. They conferred amongst themselves for a minute, but Elena couldn't tear her eyes from Stefan's face. Were those tears on his face, or merely rain?

"Elena Gilbert would you like to go back there?" Her head snapped up, her eyes finally leaving Stefan. The shimmering female face was kind, "Yes, as a human."

Elena turned fully around, hope and joy rising in her heart. "Yes! God, Yes!"

The woman's face was solemn, a warning that would be left unheeded. "There is a price -"

"-I'll pay it. Whatever it is." She was ecstatic, too ecstatic and impatient to really care what any price might be.

The soft faced woman opened her mouth again, but it was the cold one, the redhead who cut her off. "She's agreed. So it is done."

Then Elena saw only light.

…...

The lightening stuck the clearing, leaving something suspiciously like a naked girl in it's wake. They all stared, everyone too afraid to move. Their attention was so rapt only one of them heard the soft whoosh of someone else falling and a tiny thud, her body too small to make much noise. Damon spared the redhead a glance, assuming she had fainted.

"Stefan?" Elena's voice was her human one, quavering at the goose bumps on her arms. Stefan was already stumbling towards her.

Damon moved towards her too, stopping next to Bonnie to nudge her, surely she would want to see this. She didn't respond and he knelt down, turning her over. Glassy doe eyes, no heart beat, and Damon looked back to the clearly human Elena something dawning in his face. The balance had to be kept.

He slit his wrist, pressing it to Bonnie's mouth even as he was trying to push on her chest with his other hand. "_Stefan. Bonnie. Now._"

But Stefan was too absorbed to hear, and it was Matt's hands who came to help. Matt's lips were white with fear, "Is she? What happened?"

"Give her CPR, just keep her chest moving." It was an order that Matt was already obeying before it was out. Damon looked up and met Meredith's dark eyes, almost as dark as his, and saw no hope there. Meredith understood the laws of the universe, at least in terms of physics.

Elena was turning out of Stefan's arms, her voice full of joy wanting to share it. "Meredith? Bonnie?"

Meredith shot a glance over her shoulder that had Elena stumbling towards them on shaky colt legs. Stefan was helping her and Elena hated how the joy was draining from her to be filled with dread. She came to stand next to Meredith, her hand going to her mouth in horror.

Damon slit his wrist again, lifting her head higher, forcing the blood down her throat. Elena's legs gave out, "The price...I didn't listen to what the price of me coming back would be."

She looked wildly at them, "I didn't know." Her gaze going to the sky, with all of the power she had left. "_TAKE ME BACK_."

…...

Bonnie found herself at a gateway, she pushed through it and wandered into the same court Elena had just left. She didn't feel panicked, she wasn't sure she could feel that here. This was beyond what she knew of life: beyond ditzy Bonnie, beyond terrified Bonnie, beyond the child that had been. Here, in this eternal place, she was only Bonnie at her soul, the Bonnie who she had just been discovering in life. She looked around, there was only a woman sitting at a table so she headed for her. "Where am I?"

The woman was watching something in the table, her eyes coming up to Bonnie's face then back down. "The other side."

Bonnie looked at the table herself, seeing herself hit the ground as light lit up the center. It was a curious feeling, watching your own life end. "Did I die there?" She looked as the light faded, Elena becoming visible. Her voice was enraptured, joy lighting up her whole face, "Elena is back!"

She turned to share her joy with Meredith and remembered where she was, so she shared it with this stranger, pulling the lighted figure into a hug. They were still, uncomfortable, "You understand why she is there and you are here, don't you?"

And Bonnie did understand, a human life had to be traded and hers was the catalyst for the night: she had called for Elena, her power opening the rift. She was curiously un-offended by it, the same way she'd been when Damon had cared only about Stefan. Here, in this place beyond fear, she could not be touched by the sadness of it all. Nor could she claim she felt a touch of injustice at it. To her things were simply as they should be; Elena walking Earth again for the lives she had saved.

"I do understand. I always known I'd have a short life." It was so much easier to make peace with your death when you were already dead. It was nothing she had imagined: it hadn't been romantic or heroic and it certainly hadn't been elegant.

She looked back into the table, staring at the clearing, Damon was feeding her his blood and pressing on her heart. "What is Damon doing?"

The woman looked down too and when Bonnie looked up for an answer she found that there were two women now. The second woman's voice was incredulous, "He's trying to save her!"

"Damon?" She was surprised at that, she barely knew Damon, had spent most of their interactions scared witless of him. But there he was, leading the charge to fight for her life. She had been drawn to him, fascinated by his darkness and it seemed the feeling was not wholly unreturned.

The two glowing women were looking at each other, "We weren't expecting this."

Matt and Meredith were there too, Matt's hands pushing on her chest while Meredith bit her nails. Bonnie looked up at the woman, pushing her surprise at Damon aside. "Well, why not?"

They turned to look at her in confusion. Bonnie made a gesture as if to say it was the only obvious answer. "Do you not know anything about them? About us? You must have watched us after Elena died. We, I mean they now, simply don't give up if someone is hurt. Not even if they're dead."

Elena was screaming at the sky now, her power pushed into the words. "TAKE ME BACK." Stefan was next to her, clutching her, his offer equally as convicted, "No, take me."

The two celestial beings were arguing now, "What's done cannot be undone. You know that."

"A life for a life." The other was saying as a third, brunette being joined them. "What's going on?"

She looked into the table, her voice aghast. "Is he trying to turn her into a vampire?"

"Yes, Damon Salvatore is trying to turn her into a vampire." The redhead answered and it sounded even odder this time to Bonnie. Damon, who had stalked Elena, Damon, who had terrified Bonnie, was trying to save her. Damon was the one whose blood was flowing across her dead lips; Damon was the one refusing to let her simply be dead. How curious, how un-Damon.

Clearly these beings knew Damon, knew his life and his darkness in more detail than Bonnie ever could dream too, and they were confounded. Bonnie watched them in silence, watched as an idea bloomed around the room. Bonnie was the first to say it, even in this place she had no barrier between her mind and her mouth. "A life for a life. My human life for Elena's..."

The blonde being nodded, "That would keep the balance."

Bonnie found herself starting to bounce, "Would I even become a vampire? Can that work from here?"

They all looked at each other, wary of condemning an already saved soul. Finally, they gave their answer, "If you chose it, yes. We could send you back."

Bonnie bounced harder, "Well, I choose it!"

They regarded her a long moment, "We just want to make sure you understand what you're doing. Vampires...have no soul."

Bonnie took in the three women and her mouth quirked to the side. A lifetime that lasted an eternity... a lifetime with Stefan and Damon. "Sure they do, have you met Stefan? Besides, Damon seems to like it. And Stefan doesn't seem to mind...much."

The redhead's voice was cool, bordering on rude. "Fine. We just need to get permission from a higher power."

Bonnie made a face, suddenly impatient to be away from this golden place and the women who seemed to have no idea what they were doing. "Then do it. Get permission from whoever traded my life for Elena's."

They looked at each other and it made Bonnie ache for Meredith and Elena, ache for the same sort of companionship. It was the kind faced blonde this time, "Elena made that choice."

Bonnie shook her head in disbelief. "So you're saying Elena got to decide whether I died or not, but I can't chose whether I get to live? What sort of justice is that?"

The redheaded being shared another long glance with her companions and sighed. Her voice was tired, "Go then, Bonnie McCullough and Wake."

Then Bonnie saw only darkness, felt it open it's arms and envelope her in it's sweet embrace.

…...

Caroline was the first to give up, holding herself tightly in her nude slip. She watched Matt's arms shaking with effort and sighed, her voice still a quaver, "Matt, she's gone and she's not coming back."

Matt had looked up aghast, horror on his face and a reproach on his lips. But Meredith's cool hand was on his shoulder, a small squeeze. She didn't say anything, Matt didn't think she could, but her squeeze said it all for her. Bonnie was gone and now they should mourn her, not debase her body any further. Matt had to stop pushing on the small sternum he'd broken, had to leave the ribs he'd cracked alone.

Elena couldn't speak, her grief and guilt too much to bear. Stefan squeezed her shoulder, his voice soft. "Damon. It's over."

Damon kept trying to make blood go down her throat and Stefan sighed inaudibly. "Brother, you've given her enough blood. If she's going to Change she will."

Damon looked up at that, some distant part of him amused that he, outsider of this group and occasional villain, had refused to give up hope even when her closest friends abandoned her. He had no idea why he'd fought so hard to save this little bird; it was neither whim nor compulsion. Instead he leaned back, surveying his handiwork.

Her mouth and neck were covered in blood and it was hard to tell how much she had actually swallowed versus how much had ended up all over her. But something like pride swelled in him and he looked back at Stefan, confidence swelling in his black velvet voice. She would be beautiful, more beautiful than any of his other children. "Very well. She'll Change soon enough."

"And what if she does? She wouldn't have wanted _that." _Caroline's outburst stunned them all, they had thought Elena's divinity had cured her. It seemed it only cured her current shakes, not her state of mind.

Meredith put a hand on Caroline's shoulder, gently restraining. Her dark eyes took in Damon's indifference and Stefan's hurt. "Caroline is simply saying Bonnie would have wanted a choice. It doesn't matter now, though."

Something sparked in Damon's dark eyes, "A _choice_? I gave her the only choice she had left."

A touch of hope flared in Elena's dead eyes, from where she was wiping Damon's blood from Bonnie's face, her hands shaking madly. "What are you saying, Damon?"

"I'm saying," Damon said with disdain, "it's a life for life. That is how the Other Side works."

"A human life for human life," Meredith murmured it to herself. Her dark eyes were studying Damon, still with white around the edges. "Is that bravado speaking? Or experience?"

Damon quirked an eyebrow, holding her gaze until Meredith looked away. His dark voice was something like a warning to their group, "You think this is the first time in my _lungo vit_e I've dealt with the beyond?"

Caroline opened her mouth, but Meredith's arm clutched her so hard that nails dug into her. Damon surveyed them both; Caroline's fear and Meredith's control barely hanging on by the threads. There was nothing to say to that. As long as Bonnie was dead it didn't matter if Damon had fought the Gods himself. Matt spoke next, his voice heavy, "I guess we should get going. Back to the boarding house?"

Desolate nods all around and Damon hefted the small red bird into his arms, ignoring both Stefan and Matt's open arms. He would be the one to carry his childe. Their desolate, broken army marched on and Damon ignored the practical conversations going on around him. They were discussing whether to call the authorities or to simply clean her up and put her in bed, letting her parents find her in the morning. All things that wouldn't matter when she Woke. It was when for him, not if, Damon Salvatore did not go back on his word.

He looked down at her, covered in his blood it was hard to tell if her skin was gaining the chalkiness of the undead. Her hair seemed smoother, but it still dripped with the rain from the clearing. He supposed that somewhere, somewhen, little innocent Bonnie was deciding between peace and darkness. He knew what she would choose; the darkness she had been drawn too, the wild side that in her had so far only manifested in a whirlwind of boys.

They were about halfway back to the boarding house when everything changed. Bonnie tensed in Damon's arms, then went flipping backwards out of them. She surveyed their group in a ferocious crouch, her eyes no longer doe colored, but a wild chocolate.

Pride burst in Damon's chest, but he kept his voice deliberately non threatening. "Bonnie. We're not going to hurt you."

She straightened out of her crouch, obeying his voice, but came no closer. Her eyes lingered on the humans, going between them in a rapid succession. Finally, she turned back to Damon her mental voice asking permission, "_Damon_?"

Damon looked at Stefan, ignoring the fresh vampire for a moment. "She's hungry."

Matt was stepping forward, pulling off his grimy t shirt, he knew the drill. Meredith stepped in front of him, her eyes held fear, but determination to do whatever her oldest friend needed. This was Bonnie and she was the only thing that mattered. "You're too tall, Matt."

It was true, Bonnie's diminutive stature hadn't changed in death. Her head wouldn't have even reached Matt's shoulder. But Elena was stepping forward too, shrugging off Stefan and her voice was determined. "No, let me. I'm the reason she's like this."

Bonnie was watching them all carefully, her eyes studying Elena hungrily as she approached. Damon and Stefan approached with her, over Damon's question, "Is she even human?"

"What else would I be?" Elena snapped, stopping a few feet from Bonnie and brushing her hair back.

Damon came to Bonnie's side still using a gentle voice, "Drink only until her heart beats in time with yours, no more and you'll hurt her."

Bonnie was ignoring Damon, inching closer to Elena. Her voice was a confused joy, "Elena?"

Tears pooled and overran Elena's face and she opened her arms, pulling Bonnie into them. "Bonnie! I'm so sorry."

Damon was still there, brushing Elena's hair aside when Bonnie tensed. He touched the side of Elena's neck gently, "Bite here, where you can see the pulse. Remember, drink only until your hearts beat in time."

Bonnie eyed it carefully and then bit with both Damon and Stefan still hovering. She only drank for a few moments before jumping backwards, coming to a rest a few feet apart from their group. Elena's voice was shrill, "What happened?"

Bonnie's eyes only met Damon's and approval flashed in his black eyes, listening to her rattled words in his mind. "She's afraid of hurting you, Elena. Afraid she'll be overcome by the blood and take too much."

Meredith was stepping forward, sinking to the forest floor as she primly pulled off the light sweatshirt she wore. "Bring her to me then. She can take a little from all of us."

She had put aside her fear of giving blood and clung to her joy that Bonnie was alive. She held open her arms, "Come, Bonnie."

Bonnie went, sinking too the ground and all but scrabbling into Meredith's lap. She pushed the dark hair away impatiently and bit gently. Just as quickly it was over, but rather than fleeing Bonnie rested her head on Meredith's shoulder. Meredith pulled her tight, tears shimmering in her dark eyes before spilling over quietly. Elena stumbled to them, wrapping her arms around both of them and sobbing with gut wrenching tears.

The three stayed like that, clutched in an eternal sisterhood, until Bonnie's hunger took over. She scrabbled out of the embrace, her hungry eyes finding Matt.

He'd sat nearby, patiently waiting his turn. Bonnie skittered towards him, unnatural and graceful all at once. Her dark eyes, more aware now, took him in. She watched his reaction to her: how he noticed her skin was peaches and cream, her raspberry lips vivid against her cheeks. He reached out and touched one perfect strawberry wave as if compelled, his lips parting in a shaky breath. She darted forward, catching his lips in a kiss.

Damon half smiled, watching as the kiss went on, watching as Matt's shoulders relaxed and the humans stared unabashedly. His little one was already trusting her instincts on how to handle prey. Bonnie pulled away and Matt, looking dazed whispered, "Wow."

She bit him gracefully, while he was still trapped in her lure. She drank deeper from him than she had the girls, sating her hunger on his musky blood. She let him hold her, let his face fall into her hair and inhale the scent of the forest from her skin. She pulled away slowly with a tiny lick to his wounds and unwound herself from her. She stood, stretching with lazy contentment on her face.

Bonnie left Matt on the ground returning to her sire, her eyes questioning. He smiled his approval, "Very good, little bird."

She wound her fingers into his, sniffing at the night air with worry. Damon took a delicate sniff, daylight was coming. "Little brother, do you have Elena's ring?"

They were all off the ground now, Caroline having helped Matt up. Stefan's voice was willing, but worried, "What if Elena still needs it?"

Elena shook out her blonde hair, "I'm human! But I'll stay inside if need be."

Stefan made the ring appear, but the brewing argument proved pointless. The ring was too big for any of Bonnie's tiny fingers and she refused to wear the necklace, immediately ripping it off. Damon sighed, as if he'd known this would happen. He'd always carried a few spare lapis luzli stones due to a misconception in his vampire youth that bigger stones meant better protection. "I'll just have to get her one made."

They began drifting towards the boarding house again, Caroline leading the way. She wanted away from them, away from this terrible night. Bonnie and Damon drifted apart from the group, a conversation occurring in their minds. She seemed almost unwilling or unused to speaking aloud. Stefan and Elena watched, Elena marveling as Bonnie's hand hesitantly reached out and Damon's hand closed the gap, engulfing the tiny hand.

"She's cooperating so well with him." Elena marveled at that, Bonnie was nothing of the wild murderous creature she had been.

"He's her sire." Stefan's voice was speculative.

Elena opened her mouth in confusion, she had been very messed up as a new vampire. Stefan's voice was only gentle, bygones were bygones. "Her _only _sire."

Elena nodded, another worry niggling at her. Tonight wasn't about her return, it was about Bonnie. "What happens to her now? Do you think Damon will take care of her?"

Stefan wound his fingers into hers, "The same thing that happens to you. She disappears, or lives with her family until the secret is almost up. Damon will take care of her, more so than his other ventures."

Elena marveled at that, unable to face her fate at the moment. "Other ventures?"

Stefan smiled, "The longest partnership lasted only a few years. But I believe this is the first Change Damon has undertaken on purpose. Either way I'll keep tabs on Bonnie, if she chooses not to wander with us."

_Wander with us. _It was the most beautiful phrase Elena had ever heard. She was alive, she had Stefan and all of her friends were safe. Nothing could be better and Elena fell into the contentment of it all.

They wandered upon the boarding house slowly, approaching the lighted structure from the back. They were surprised to find Mrs. Flowers rocking on the back porch, something like a makeshift hospital laid out. She rose to greet them, coming off the porch quickly. She took in their group, worry fading from her wrinkled face. "You're ok. I wondered who would return from the clearing."

Her eyes found Elena in the back, a smile spreading across her face. "Welcome back, girl."

Elena smiled at her, this was not the they had known and watched. The old woman's eyes drifted to Bonnie, taking in the change in her and the sleepiness in her dark eyes. She clucked, "We've got to find somewhere dark for this one, hadn't we?"

Damon's dark voice was pure butter, "Somewhere without sunlight, please."

Mrs. Flowers raised her eyebrow at him, "I know what you are, boy. The root cellar is all I can offer until you board up one of the bedrooms."

Stefan stepped forward, pulling Elena. His manners straight out of the Italian Renaissance, "Thank you so much, Mrs. Flowers. I know this is an …. inconvenience."

She ushered them onto the porch, "It's nothing of the sort. Unexpected yes, but I thought I would be receiving a ragtag bunch of wounded."

They entered the kitchen and Bonnie took her hugs from the group in silence, her mysterious chocolate eyes thoughtful. Stefan took a mattress down to the root cellar, making a make shift bed amongst the vegetables that grew in the dark. It was Elena, Meredith and Damon who took her down to complete her Change. They settled her into the bed in silence, her eyelids barely able to keep upright. Once under the covers she had surveyed them, her husky voice childlike and recognizable, "Stay? Don't leave me..."

The response was immediate, the three reacting in different ways. Elena and Meredith fell on her, Elena's own memory of a solitary waking causing her to speak quickest. "We will! We won't leave you -"

Meredith cut her off, "-For a moment. We would never, Bonnie."

Her smile was incomplete, her dark eyes going to her sire. Damon touched her hand, "You will never be alone, little one."

Her eyes bored into his, and he sighed inaudibly. "I'll stay." A pause, "I just need to get your ring."

She nodded and clutching Meredith and Elena's hands she drifted asleep as the summer solstice waned.

…...


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This could go on and on, but it shouldn't :) Thanks for all the reviews I know AU endings are popular topics and had been loathe to post another version, but you all make me glad I did.

**Keeping the Balance Part 2**

The ride to the jeweler had been silent so far, Damon's face unreadable despite Stefan's best efforts. How many words had these brothers left unsaid to each other? How many things had passed in silence, maybe implicitly understood or misunderstood. If they had talked more when they were human would any of this have even happened?

Stefan tried to push those guilty thoughts away, knowing they would return later. But now, now was a time for a fresh beginning. "I saw you paying Mrs. Flowers..."

Damon's eyes never left the road, "For Bonnie's room."

Stefan nodded, wondering if he had paid for another room. "Elena thinks she'll try and blend in as human with her family for a few more years at least."

Damon's chuckle was dark, "And do you think they'll buy that? The girl was gifted before, what about the rest of her kin?"

That had never occurred to Stefan, he had simply assumed Bonnie was anomaly. It didn't matter, either way. The words were impulsive as Damon pulled into the parking lot, "I'm glad you're staying, Damon."

A brilliant smile flashed Stefan's way, "Why? I'm not staying for you, little brother."

Stefan shook his head with his own smile and followed Damon out of the car, Damon was still Damon. He followed Damon into the jewelry store and sighed. The jeweler was shaking in fear, dropping his package more than once as he brought it to the counter. Stefan moved closer to the counter, curious as the jeweler opened the box.

Damon looked at it for a moment, an inspection that looked merely cursory but wasn't. He'd had a large chunk of the raw lapis lazuli set like a diamond, two tiny moonstones at it's base. To Stefan it looked like some odd parody of an engagement ring, except it would bind Bonnie to forever not death do us part.

Damon's voice was pure ice, "The inscription?"

The jeweler's hands shook as he removed the ring from the box and handed it to Damon, his voice quavering, "The date is just as you requested it, Sir."

Stefan quirked an eyebrow in confusion at Damon and Damon continued to ignore him, "The earrings?"

Another box opened to reveal celtic knots set with lapis lazuli in the center. Damon nodded and the man shut the box. "You may pack them up."

Damon waited, looking regal until the packages were placed in his hand. Then he left the store and the jeweler leaned against the wall gratefully, his legs giving out as he slid down. Stefan leaned over the counter, "Are you alright, sir."

"Fine, fine. It's nothing." He looked as terrified of Stefan as he did Damon. What had Damon done to him on his first visit?

Stefan simply nodded, taking out his wallet and throwing a few bills on the counter before returning to the car. He got in, gesturing at the little man in the store, "Was that really necessary?"

Damon's smile was catlike, his voice prim. "Jewelers are notoriously late in delivering custom creations. I want her to have it before she wakes up, is that so bad?"

Stefan shook his head, "Do I even want to know what you did to make him like that?"

"Do you? It might offend your delicate sensibilities." There was definite enjoyment in Damon's voice.

Stefan leaned back into his leather seat, deciding that he could not protect all humans from Damon's whims. "Why the inscription in the ring? I didn't take you for the sentimental type."

Damon's face turned towards him in surprise that faded into disdain, "Are you seriously telling me, _little brother_, that in the past 500 years you never once looked inside the ring Katherine gave you? I assumed you had enough gumption even for that."

If Stefan could have blushed, he would. In truth, he'd simply never taken it off to look. "Carrying on traditions from Katherine, are we?"

Damon rolled one shoulder, "Technically, she's Bonnie's grand sire. Though with her death it doesn't really matter, does it?"

Stefan's voice was thoughtful, he'd wanted to ask Damon this for the past two days. "Why did you do it? Change her?"

Damon was silent, driving along the road back to the boarding house. Stefan offered some of his theories, "For Elena? So that she wouldn't be consumed with guilt?"

"No." The dark voice sounded frustrated, as if he himself couldn't figure out why he'd saved Bonnie either.

"Would you have done it for one of the others? Matt? Meredith?"

"No." The answer was immediate, "Those humans don't belong in this world."

What was left unsaid was that Bonnie somehow did belong. Stefan found himself implicitly agreeing with it; her power would leave her with a supernatural life either way. The silence stretched out again, Damon's voice slightly confused, "It was the right thing to do."

He paused, amending his statement. "It was the _only thing _to do."

Stefan could have argued against that point, but chose not to. It was done, they were all alive in some form or another and Bonnie would Wake soon. It seemed unfair to him that the most innocent and childish of their group had to give up the most.

"The world is not fair." Damon's voice was icy again, walls back in place.

…...

As promised, when Bonnie woke she was not alone. Meredith and Damon were there and it was an unfamiliar weight being placed on her hand that had jolted her into consciousness. Bonnie simply stared at them, marveling at how clear her eyesight was now.

Meredith's voice was calm, "I'm going to grab Elena, Bonnie."

Bonnie sat up in the bed, noticing someone had put her in clean clothes. She met Damon's black eyes, "How do you feel?"

She stretched, her muscles felt surprisingly strong and supple. Her voice was huskier now, less achingly childlike. "Good."

She made it out of the bed, trying to turn off the buzzing in her mind. Damon's feelings were strong right now, like a churning vortex in him before he noticed her curiosity and walls slammed up. She took him in seriously; he was even more breathtaking with her new eyes. "Thank you."

He shook his head, his half smile darker than usual. "Don't thank me yet, little bird. You know nothing of this life."

No, Bonnie didn't. She knew nothing much of life in general, in her opinion, but she would learn fast enough. "So when do I get to thank you? 5 years?"

His black eyes bored into hers, "Give it _o cento_. If you still want to thank me after everyone you knew in your human life has passed on, then you can."

Elena, Meredith and Stefan were coming back into the room, but Bonnie's attention was still on Damon. He was never what she expected and she was glad to find that she was no longer afraid of him.

Stefan approached her first, handing her a bouquet of roses with a gentle hug. The warmth in his voice was genuine, "I'm glad you're awake, Bonnie. Are you hungry?"

Bonnie glanced at Damon, imagining this new thirst would be like her old one, but he wasn't looking at her. She stumbled over the new vocabulary, "No. I...took enough last time."

Then she was wrapped into the sisterhood, caught up in hugs and tears, joy and sadness. Whatever paths their lives took them on, this unbreakable friendship would be a constant. However her personality changed they would be her beacon to the Bonnie who had once been, they would be her humanity.

When she finally looked up from the hug Damon and Stefan were gone, giving them their privacy. She let Elena pull her towards the bathroom with exclamations about her new beauty. Her heart raced, what if she didn't look like herself?

But she did, simply a more polished version. Her skin was creamy, her eyes a few shades darker and her lips now perfectly shaped. But she was still Bonnie with freckles on her nose and the loose strawberry blonde waves that were hers naturally. She touched her reflection, appreciating the enhanced curves she now enjoyed, "I look... more human than the boys. Don't I?"

Meredith squeezed her shoulders, "Most definitely. You just look more grown up."

Elena nodded vigorously, "You look beautiful. Even Damon keeps saying so."

Bonnie's stomach flipped in her stomach, confirming an inkling that she found Damon devilishly attractive even without the aspect of fear and being his prey. Vampire Bonnie was going to be in trouble. She turned from the mirror, swatting at the buzzing in her mind, no prophecies today.

"Is Matt here?" She asked, looking down at the long top that was Meredith's, "Are my clothes here?"

The girls shared guilty glances, "Meredith told your dad you, her and Matt were going on an impromptu camping trip. We didn't grab anything, I'm sorry."

She settled for wearing one of Elena's newly bought dresses before they headed downstairs. Matt was pacing in the hallway, back and forth, back and forth. Bonnie came down, still holding the flowers and he froze, staring up at her.

Suddenly feeling shy she took the last few steps slowly, "Hi Matt."

He looked at the flowers, giving her a soft hug. His voice was bummed out, "Sorry, I didn't get you any flowers Bonnie. I didn't even think about it!"

She returned the gentle squeeze, "Don't be. It's just Stefan...being well, Stefan."

He blushed as he pulled away and Bonnie felt a tug in her teeth, he really had been tasty. She knew without asking he would give her his blood again, but it wasn't urgent. She'd have to learn to hunt soon, she couldn't live her life snacking on Matt Honeycutt.

They settled into the living room and Bonnie turned to Elena, it seemed easier to face Elena's issues than her own. "So what are you going to do?"

Elena beamed at Stefan. "Get a fake identity and travel some. Then I might try and go to college! I can't get in this year, but maybe next I could join Meredith and you."

Bonnie felt her eyes bulge, "College and me? Are you kidding? No way I'm doing that now."

"Bonnie, you'll like it." Meredith's voice was supportive.

Bonnie made a disgusted noise, "Meredith, I barely managed to get into a junior college. I barely passed senior year and most of that was done out of pity."

Elena opened her mouth to say something and Bonnie waved her off, "It's not like I don't have time to go back." She paused, feeling as if she'd just been sucker-punched. "Can I go back home?"

They all exchanged glances and Bonnie hated it, Stefan spoke for the group. "We think you can blend back in for a few years at least. Let's see how you do today, ok? Then maybe you can go home later in the week."

She nodded but her stomach still churned. A few more years, that was all she would get. No being aunt to Mary's children, no visiting her parents at Christmas for the rest of her life. She wouldn't even be able to go to their funerals. Suddenly, she just wanted to be alone, out of this falsely cheery room. She wanted to throw the vase of Stefan's flowers at a wall and watch it crack, this wasn't something to celebrate.

She looked at them all, "I need some time."

She fled to the widow's walk and let her worries take her. The churned and swirled in her, around her like the wind. The wind was oddly comforting to Bonnie, it would always be there, she would never have to leave it or say goodbye. She let the sensations of the wind take over her worries, let it numb the reality of her fate.

…...

Bonnie wasn't alone long which was good, she wasn't good at being alone with herself. She felt the door open and his presence at her back. She had been expecting Meredith, not her sire.

"How are you feeling?" His whispered voice sounded as loud as regular to her new ears, his accent seeming more pronounced.

"Good. Better than ever." It began in sarcasm but ended in truth, this new Bonnie seemed unbreakable if sad.

She looked down at her hands, feeling suddenly uncomfortable as she stared at the new addition to her left ring finger. It was beautiful, her eyes flew up to his, this was not Elena's ring.

Damon's voice was soft, "Raw lapis lazuli for protection and moonstones for memory. I've also had you earrings made if you prefer those."

She nodded, taking a moment to quell the emotion swelling in her throat. When she finally spoke it was for more than the jewelry, it was for everything he'd done. "Thank you. They're lovely."

"I have good taste."

He laughed, a low dark chuckle that did funny things to her spine. Bonnie marveled at that, marveled at the fact she was no longer afraid of him. She was no longer the rabbit staring down the black snake. She was a black snake herself now.

Damon chuckled again, "You're not a snake little one. Still just a baby bird."

Bonnie made a face at that, new thoughts drifting into her mind. There would be no more giggling, no more running around wildly like a chicken with it's head cut off. She made another face, a more frantic thought coming into her mind. "What happens to you now?"

His head tilted to the side, "What do you mean? Your little bunch of humans aren't trying to run me out of town anymore."

Bonnie found she could still blush. "You...me? This thing...I mean you changed me right? What about that?"

"Ah, yes." He paused, his black eyes looking beyond her to the past for a moment. "I can see why you would think that I would abandon you. Katherine left both of us to find our way in this world and my _little brother _very nearly didn't survive his first few years in the shadows." A small frown and Bonnie wondered if Stefan ever realized how much Damon watched him.

His dark eyes swung back to hers filled with protectiveness. "I will not do that to you. You simply would get ripped to shreds and I won't allow that, little bird."

Well, at least she wouldn't get ripped to shreds, but it wasn't comforting there were a thousand other ways to die. Bonnie thought of Klaus and shivered, he'd thrown lightening at her had wanted to eat Stefan. Knowledge dripped down her spine, vampires didn't have gentle deaths, only violent and painful ones. Prophecy followed the knowledge, pouring down her spine like ice water. Her death was going to be particularly gruesome, but at least it wasn't close.

…...

Going home was the hardest thing for Bonnie yet. She hovered on the doorstep, clutching the stuffed elephant Damon had retrieved with her clothes, repeatedly finding the doorway would not let her through. Tears began to fill her eyes, this was her home!

Then Meredith was there, out of the car and grabbing Bonnie's bag as she entered the house. "Come on, Bonnie."

The weight lifted and Bonnie slipped through the doorway, they carried her 'camping' gear to her room in silence. Bonnie stared at her room for a long time before walking Meredith back down to the door. Meredith's hug was tight, "Call me if you need me, ok?"

"I will." Bonnie hugged her back and watched as Meredith drifted back to her car.

"How was your trip, Bonnie?" Mary asked, breezing down the stairs in her scrubs.

"It was interesting." Bonnie said, following her sister into the kitchen for lack of a better thing to do.

Mary paused, her brown eyes taking in Bonnie. "You look different. Too pale."

Bonnie shifted her feet awkwardly, "You know I never tan."

Mary brushed it aside, "You're probably low on iron. Eat some red meat."

Bonnie nodded pushing her hair back, she couldn't seem to stop fidgeting. Mary set her glass down, reaching out to grab Bonnie's hand. "Whoa. Where did you get that?"

Bonnie looked at the striking ring and found herself blushing. "It was.. a gift."

Mary raised one eyebrow, her mannerisms and pedantic personality so similar to Meredith. "Matching earrings too. Who was the gift from?"

Bonnie pulled her hand away, trying to think of a lie and failing. "My friend Damon..Smith. He was a friend of Alaric Saltzman, he came to stay with him."

Mary's eyes took her in, "Better not let dad see it. Can I try it on?"

Bonnie glanced at the sunlight, "Maybe tonight? You'll be late."

Mary looked up at the clock, abandoning her soup in hand. "You're right. Have a good night...and later you're telling me more about this Damon!"

She breezed out of the kitchen and Bonnie leaned against the counter, letting out a long exhale. One down and two parents to go, she just needed a few minutes to recover from Mary.

"A gift that Dad better not see, huh?" Her father's lilt from the other side of the open counter. Bonnie swung around, how had he snuck up on her?

He was still looking at her hand, "That better be a graduation gift not an engagement ring."

He looked up at her with twinkling eyes then the sparkle disappeared and the color drained from his face. "What happened Bonnie?"

"What do you mean?" Her voice sounded high even to her own ears. This was what she was afraid of.

He lifted her hand up, studying the ring with intensity. "Lapis lazuli?"

Bonnie managed a weak nod.

He pointed at the table, gesturing her to sit. "Where's mom?"

He glanced around. "Bunco."

He regarded her a long time in silence, before repeating his question. "What happened?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Bonnie had always been a terrible liar, now was no exception. She had a battering heart and sweaty hands, her eyes looking everywhere but at her father.

He sighed, "The gift skips a generation, but the legends don't."

Bonnie finally let her eyes swing back to her father, a question forming on her lips even as old memories of scary stories rose. "The legends?"

"The bedtime stories and campfire tales, Bonnie. Mine were always the scariest, remember?"

And Bonnie did remember, the tales of werewolves and banshees, the warnings to not look a vampire in the eye or dance in a circle of firelight with strangers. She put her face in her hands, her father _knew. _

"Was it the Salvatore boy?" His question was blunt, so like her unflappable father.

Bonnie looked up, "Not Stefan, no. His brother." She paused, tears filling her eyes at the sudden thought. "Do you...do you hate me?"

He reached across the table, grasping her cold hand. "No Bonnie, I could never. My mother always thought something would happen to you after what she did for me."

"What did she do for you?" Some survival instinct was telling her to keep the conversation on her father.

He took his time and Bonnie tried breathing deeply, pushing weakly at the intuition in her mind. "Did I ever tell you why I left Scotland?"

"Too many potatoes?" Bonnie asked weakly, it sounded dumb even to her own ears.

"That's why your mother left Philadelphia." He smiled at the bad joke, before abruptly sobering. Bonnie's intuition was buzzing, she did not want to hear this next part. "There was a girl a in my village when I was about twenty, beautiful lass. Her name was Katherine-"

"von Swartzchild." Bonnie's intuition replied, her world tilting wildly off axis in the process. This surely could not be happening.

Her father recovered from his shock quicker than to be expected, "Yes. How do you know that? Gran? She almost Changed me."

Her red curls shook. "One of her favorite tricks." Bonnie felt suddenly a hundred years old, as if her life had lapped itself.

He was still staring at her curiously. "Stefan and Damon in the Renaissance." She supplied, no longer caring that it wasn't her secret. Bonnie was living in bizarro world now, this had to be some sort of dream.

He nodded, looking as out of place as she felt. "After the first night your grandmother packed my bag, took me to the nearest port and gave me all the money she could. She put me on the first boat to America and I wound up here."

Here if Fell's Church, the epicenter of hell.

Bonnie's head went back to her hands, her head swimming. Her father had known Katherine, had escaped her, and she had come here to stage her Salvatore reunion... He reached over and touched her shoulder, "Now you know my story, tell me what happened, Bonnie."

She looked up, he had known about vampires and witches and had never tried to help her in this. "Why didn't you say anything to me!"

He looked uncomfortable, the harsh realization of a failed parent in his face. "I thought if you didn't know it couldn't find you, Bonnie. I'm sorry."

Her rage was strong, "Well it did! Know how I know Katherine? She came _here!"_

The color drained from his face again and Bonnie went on. "She was the maniac that killed Elena and Elena died to kill. She was the one with the dogs."

He was silent, recalling what most of the adults had suppressed in their memories. Bonnie took a deep breath, calming herself. She had to edit this next part, it came out in choked broken bits. "Then the man that made her came here for revenge. He killed Sue and Vickie and I called Stefan back to help. We tried to fight him and I died in the process. Damon brought me back."

"When?" He was being surprisingly calm.

"The summer solstice." Bonnie saw his face and made an addition, "He's gone, he tried to spill more blood here and the spirits didn't like that."

Her father looked thoughtful as he sipped his scotch, his dark brown eyes sad. "I'm sorry you took my fate. Did it hurt?'

"No." At least Bonnie could answer that truthfully, she had simply been gone one moment.

Relief mixed with the guilt in his face, "Promise you'll always visit?"

Bonnie paused, this was a dream come true. Her family knew, at least part of them. Her voice was small. "What about Mom?"

"I'll handle it when the time comes, honey."

"I will." Tears were overflowing.

He patted her hand old protectiveness rising. "If you're going to be with these boys I'd like to meet this Damon and Stefan."

Bonnie wasn't sure what to say to that, at least he wasn't asking her about college. But her father's eyes were adamant. "Bring them to dinner tomorrow. I'll grill steak."

Bonnie frowned, wondering why he would grill steak for three people who didn't eat. This was not going to be a picnic.

…...

By the time Meredith's car was pulling up to the boarding house Bonnie was slightly hysterical. The world was swimming around her in not a great way. Everyone had somehow beat them to the boarding house, though really Matt was the only one who had to travel. Bonnie didn't like how their eyes surveyed her, worry filling them. She had not slipped and eaten her family!

Bonnie sat, popping off the couch just as quickly. They're eyes collectively watched her movements. Elena broke first, "Bonnie, what happened?"

Bonnie's eyes flicked to her then rapidly between the two Salvatore brothers. Back and forth between them until she could no longer hold it in. "Stefan and Damon...will you come to dinner tomorrow night at my parents?"

Silence met her: wondering green eyes and curious black eyes. Bonnie's impatience blurted the next part. "For steak!" a nervous giggle, "My dad knows."

"Oh Bonnie!" "Bonnie McCullough!" The exasperated chorus was familiar to Bonnie, she'd heard it all her life at her tactless statements. And usually she deserved it. Elena's voice was most strident, "Bonnie! How could you?"

Her red curls flew in sudden annoyance, turning to the one person who hadn't spoken. Damon's dark eyes were watching her, impatience flickering around the edges. Her voice was a snap at the group, her eyes holding Damon's. "I didn't tell him."

They room quieted down again, Stefan moving to stand at the edge of the group. Bonnie could feel her hysteria rising in her. "My father had to leave Scotland because of a vampire."

Stefan leaned over, his hands resting on the back of a chair. Damon watched her in silence, the rest moving slightly. Elena's voice was weak, "I thought it had something to do with potatoes?"

Another shake of her head, "We're scottish, not irish."

Damon's dark voice was impatient now, "What vampire?"

Bonnie was quiet for a moment, trying to enjoy this last moment before she ripped the rug out from everyone. "Katherine." Even to her ears her hysterical giggle sounded deranged, a vague echo of Katherine's.

The room froze. Stefan's hands clutching the back of the chair had white knuckles, his ragged breaths loud in the sudden silence. Elena and Meredith were simply staring at Bonnie, mouths agape and Matt glaring at a wall. No surprise or shock showed on Damon's face, but he looked colder than Bonnie had ever seen. She couldn't look at the tundra in his eyes so she turned away.

Their world was as off axis as hers now, all of them wildly spinning away into the night. She couldn't take the tension in the room, "At least you'll have something in common to talk to my dad about."

Meredith's "Oh, Bonnie." was weak this time, more of a pitying tone.

Matt thawed next, looking at the vampires speculatively then back to the girls. He looked like the desolate Matt before Stefan had returned. "Meredith's grandfather, your father...I wonder what dirty secrets my family has been hiding."

Bonnie's thoughts flew to Matt's father and the mystery around that. She'd only ever heard Matt mention a mom and she'd never seen a grave bearing Honeycutt. She'd never asked and he'd never volunteered any info. Damon's cool voice was flippant, "Katherine and Klaus seemed to have made the rounds. Care to take a bet on which of our _dear friends_ it was?"

Stefan finally seemed to be recovering, "Don't ask questions you aren't sure you want the answers to Matt. You may not like what you find." The tortured green eyes swung to Bonnie. "What time should we be there?"

"Six."

…...

They arrived right at six with a bouquet of flowers for Bonnie's mother and a bottle of scotch for her farther. Her mother and Mary were immediately won over by Damon's charm and Stefan's sincerity, but Bonnie's father was a harder case to crack. She wasn't surprised when they followed him into the backyard to help him grill.

Bonnie's mother was checking the potatoes, her statement really a question. "Damon seems nice, Bonnie."

"He certainly does." Damon could definitely pull off nice when he wanted to, but Bonnie still had a hard time telling what was an act and what wasn't.

"I think he's too old for you." Mary's voice was also suggestive, a hint to pass him on.

_You have no idea, _Bonnie wanted to say. Instead she opted for another diplomatic answer, wishing Meredith were there to do it for her. "We have a lot more in common than you would think."

Bonnie was glad Mary just rolled her eyes rather than ask for a list, because Bonnie could only think of one thing they shared. Bonnie's thoughts were in the backyard as she set the table, wondering what all they were talking about. Wondering if Stefan was looking at her father and seeing the life he could have had: growing old and having children with Elena. Was her father looking at the two of them and seeing the same thing: another life frozen at twenty to wander eternity? Now in middle age, what would he have chosen if he could go back in time?

Her mother seemed to be thinking the same thing, "I wonder what they're talking about out there? The steaks should be done by now."

Bonnie carried the potatoes to the table, "I think they're related to someone dad knew in his youth."

"What a small world." Her mother said as they came in the back door. Bonnie took them in: her father's eyes were tight, Stefan's troubled and Damon's serene.

Bonnie found herself wedged in the nook between Stefan and Damon, who were both somehow managing to eat the steak in front of them. She couldn't seem to do it, opting for pushing it around the plate instead. The whole thing was surreal for her. Damon and her mother had managed to keep the conversation moving, Damon's compliments on the food sincere. "I haven't had potatoes this good in _years, _Mrs. McCullough."

Her mother fluttered and her father gave Bonnie a small smile, "Damon tells me you're thinking of taking a year off before college to do some traveling."

"Yeah. Might as well do it while I'm young, you know?" Bonnie forced a bite of the potatoes in her mouth, glad they had decided on something before tonight. As far as her mother and sister were concerned Damon was going to be her older, rich boyfriend.

Bonnie's mother frowned and Damon's chimed in, "I've never been to Australia. I'd like to go while I still can."

"You've got plenty of time." Bonnie's mother was still frowning. In reality, Damon probably only had a few more years before his power would trap him on one continent.

"I'd love to see Australia." Mary chimed in.

Damon batted long eyelashes at her, "But Mary, you've got plenty of time..."

The table laughed and the conversation fell into a safer pattern of nothings and nonsense.

…...

"So how was it?" Elena asked as they reentered the boarding house, though her eyes were only for Stefan. Stefan shrugged, his eyes still weren't his usual serene shade of green.

"Fine. Everybody loved me." Damon's smile was flashing.

"So what do we do now?" Matt seemed at a loss.

Bonnie, Elena and Meredith looked at each other and Elena said the words they'd all been waiting to hear. "Nothing. We're all alive and its time to just start living again."

Fin (?)


End file.
